Queen Of Glass

Chapter 10

To make sure that she was "properly" dressed for lessons, Celaena Sardothien awoke the next day nearly two and a half hours before she was due to arrive in the small dining hall. Her handmaids dressed and did what they did best. Today her dress was a pinkish-red, almost magenta, and her hair was worn in the same fashion as it had been done the day before.
At nine o'clock, Celaena Sardothien (or rather Lithaen Gordaina) was seated once again before the podium. The other two rows had been removed, and suspecting that Kaltain would most likely be seated in the front row, Celaena chose to sit in the back. Beside her was the redhead, whose name was Jodra Nustrom, and she actually was very pretty, despite her enormous hair.
Kaltain R'ompier soon arrived in the room, and, fulfilling Celaena's prediction, she sat in the middle seat of the front row. The woman barely acknowledged Celaena as she sat down, which was a relief to the assassin. The last thing she needed was Kaltain R'ompier chattering about how much money her father had.
Celaena Sardothien smirked to herself at the thought of Kaltain knowing how rich Adarlan's assassin really was.
That is, if her bank accounts and treasuries were still around.
Celaena felt a knot of worry form in her stomach. What if her money was gone? She'd actually have to work after getting her freedom! Celaena hated to admit it, but the thought of working made her upset to the point where she wanted to tear out her hair.
After the years spent wasted in the salt-mines, Celaena had every intention of buying an estate in her home country of Trasien with the mountains of gold that she had earned in years long since past. But, if the money was gone, she'd have to find a job and work until she died and...
Before Celaena could finish this dreadful thought, a stunning, exotic woman that she had not noticed the day before walked into the room. She had skin so dark that it was almost black, eyes like onyx, and hair that was well oiled and sleek. Her clothes were foreign—consisting mostly of worn leather and animal fur. She had a liberating wildness about her that made Celaena stare in awe and respect.
The thing that the assassin liked most about the woman was that she was by no means dressed like a lady. Her knee- high boots were of a gray hide, lined with white fur, and kept up by the sinewy, brown strings that were tied tightly around her calves. The tan, stomach-exposing shirt was hardly a top at all—it would have closely resembled the slave-shirt that Celaena had worn in the mines, except for the fact that it was also lined with fur. The above-the-knee skirt matched the top that the woman was wearing.
At her side she carried a great wooden spear, which had feathers, tiny bones, and bells tied like charms on a bracelet near to the dagger-sharp metal point. A similar arrangement of such objects adorned a hair ornament that she wore above her right ear, holding one side of her hair back to reveal her chiseled cheekbones and fine facial features.
Kaltain R'ompier took one look at this woman and considered her an uncultured savage.
Celaena Sardothien thought she was lovely.
When the woman pointed at the empty seat beside Celaena with raised eyebrows, the assassin smiled at the woman and beckoned for her to sit. Celaena watched the foreigner seat herself, and secretly wished that she was allowed to wear such clothing instead of the confining, stuffy dress that was suffocating her.

Since Madam Tul'rouse was nowhere in sight, Celaena opened her mouth to speak to the dark-skinned woman, but someone beat her to it.
Kaltain R'ompier.
"So," Kaltain said with a sneer, "what country are you from? Do you have a name? I thought that I'd met all of the ladies in this room, but I must have missed you yesterday."
The fur-clad woman looked confused and nervous. "I...no understand what you, er, speak...Please, slower."
To Celaena's disgust, Kaltain snorted and then laughed.
"Madam Tul'rouse certainly has her work-" Kaltain began.
Celaena stepped in. "Your name," Celaena said slowly. "What do you call yourself?" Celaena pointed at her chest. "Lithaen Gordaina."
The woman's eyes widened in understanding. "Anuksun Ytger," she said, and imitated Celaena's action.
"Where are you from?" Celaena asked, and bit down on her lip, thinking of a way to make the question more understandable. ?"
"Oh! My country is Eyputiusunn."
Eyputiusunn. It was one of the few countries in the world that had female warriors and leaders within their culture. Large grasslands and forests with bountiful amounts of deer, bears, and other edible creatures, Eyputiusunn was the source for most of Adarlan's meat industry. In recent years, the government of Adarlan had overused Eyputiusunn's resources, so a ban on hunting had been placed in order to restock the animal population of Eyputiusunn. This had led to the severe rise in meat prices all across Adarlan's empire, and a minor famine within Eyputiusunn. Celaena had no idea if the famine was still continuing, but from the amounts of meat that the assassin had consumed since being released from the mines, the crisis must have ended long ago.
"Eyputiusunn? It sounds like a dirty word." Kaltain R'ompier cackled. "Well, Lithaen Gordaina, since you have no problems when communicating with this savage, I'll leave you two to get better acquainted." With that, Kaltain turned back around and began to talk to the blond woman beside her.
Celaena could have strangled her for saying that.
Hoping that Anuksun had not understood what Kaltain had said, Celaena wiped her anger from her face and tried to look as pleasant as possible when she turned back to Anuksun.
"Long travel. Very tired, no?" Anuksun said and yawned, watching Celaena with her dark eyes.
"Yes, very tired. Very long travel." Celaena acted out this the best she could with hand motions and facial expressions. "Eyputiusunn is very beautiful, is it not?"
"Very beautiful, yes. Adarlan is big, pretty country too. Though, Eyputiusunn may be a bit more big and beautiful." Celaena laughed lightly and tried to think of something to ask the woman.
"Where you from, Lithaen?" Anuksun asked her. "Adarlan?"
Celaena nodded her head. "Yes, from the city of Belaegyr."
"Fish come from Belaegyr, no?"
Celaena smiled warmly "Yes, and from Renaril."

Anuksun stamped her spear on the floor, causing several of the ladies to turn their heads (if they were not already watching the unlikely pair converse) towards them. "I fish once. Fish hard to catch—deer much easier to kill."
Celaena smiled. "I've never been one to hunt or fish, but I'm sure that if I was, I would be terrible at it." Anuksun looked at her blankly.
Celaena shook her head. "Sorry. Fish and deer-" Celaena nodded to make sure that the woman understood- "I no hunt. I am bad at fishing and hunting. I like books, you see."
"Bo-Oh, yes! Eyputiusunn has many books, but Eyputiusunnians no read much." Anuksun stroked her spear. "Enjoy hunt better."
"What a surprise, coming from an uncivilized beast," Kaltain said, turning back around. She must have been listening in on their conversation.
"Watch your mouth," Celaena hissed, her eyebrows lowering.
"You know, Lithaen, Madam Tul'rouse won't be too fond of this relationship of yours. It's not ladylike to converse with such uncultured savagery."
Celaena smiled. "Then I'll make sure to stay away from you, Kaltain." Several women gasped.
The woman's pretty features darkened in an unflattering way. "You're almost as unsophisticated as that dark-skinned excuse for a woman."
"And you, Kaltain, aren't worth the dirt beneath her shoes." Celaena was getting mad to the point where, if she hadn't spent two years in the mines, she would have driven Anuksun's spear through Kaltain's skull.
"How dare you speak to me in such a manner! Why you little-" Kaltain's face was filled with fury and she stood up.
"Good morning, ladies! Please pardon my tardiness, for Prince Dorian wanted to speak with me. He will be in later on during our lessons to see the fine choices that I have made." Madam Tul'rouse had burst through the door in time to stop the confrontation that would have occurred...and most likely resulted in Kaltain's death and Celaena's eternal enslavement. Kaltain sat back down and the look of rage vanished from her face completely as Madam Tul'rouse made her way to the podium.
"Good morning, Lithaen and Jodra. Good morning, Princess Anuksun!" Madam Tul'rouse said cheerily and bowed her head to Anuksun. Celaena grinned with delight as Kaltain's mouth popped open in shock. She had had very good luck in the past three weeks! First she had gotten out of slavery, then she had received a week in the lap of luxury, and now she'd befriended the princess of a rich country! Things were looking up for Celaena Sardothien.
If any of the eight other ladies had not bothered to turn to look at Anuksun, they did so now, along with fierce whispers to one another. Celaena could feel Princess Anuksun's face turn darker with embarrassment. Her anger getting the better of her, Celaena glared at them all.
"Yes, she's a princess. Get over it." Celaena said loudly so that they could all hear. "You're showing disrespect to her and Madam Tul'rouse by staring at her in such a manner, so I highly suggest that you all turn around and pay attention before you offend both of them even more." Celaena didn't need to say anything else for her point to get through. Eight heads turned back to the podium.
Madam Tul'rouse nodded her thanks to Celaena and began to address them. Celaena Sardothien would have paid attention to what the old woman was saying were it not for the silky brown hand that was placed on her own pale one. Celaena looked over at Princess Anuksun with raised eyebrows.
"Thank you," the princess whispered with her foreign accent and squeezed her hand to emphasize her point. "Thank you, Lithaen Gordaina."
This was the first time that anyone had really shown any interest in being friends with her—not because she was an assassin or because she was beautiful, but because she was Celaena Sardothien (or Lithaen Gordaina) and nothing

more. In her life, Celaena had never really had many friends who she could talk to, let alone allow herself to get close to (for they tended to die quite often), but when Princess Anuksun, huntress of the grasslands of Eyputiusunn, grasped her hand, Celaena Sardothien felt the threads of companionship begin to weave.